Texas' courthouse restoration grant program cut

Associated Press

Published 1:46 pm, Sunday, June 9, 2013

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — After funding was slashed for Texas' courthouse restoration program in a last-minute cut by lawmakers, officials say the state won't be able to provide significant grants for two years.

The Austin American-Statesman reports (http://bit.ly/19SNGqj ) funding for the Historic Courthouse Preservation Program was whittled to $4.2 million from the current $20 million in the final days of the regular legislative session last month.

Matt Kreisle III, chairman of the Texas Historical Commission that administers the program, said Friday that the $4.2 million will fund little more than emergency work during the next two years.

"Our goal is to get this program back on track next session," said Kreisle, who called the cut baffling.

"When times were tough, we got $20 million for this program," he said. "When times are booming, we get $4.2 million. It makes no sense."

Since the program was established in 1999, 63 of Texas' 254 counties have used the grant program to help restore their historic courthouses, spending more than $244 million in state funds and an additional $174 million of their own money to preserve the showpieces of many communities.

Many of the unrestored landmarks are in such disrepair that the courthouses collectively made the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2012 list of Most Endangered Historic Places. Texas' courthouses anchor a downtown development and investment renaissance in many county seats.

Texas' historic courthouses, built from 1860 to 1940, range in architectural variety from Art Deco and Victorian to Federal and Greek Revival styles.

The restoration program has garnered accolades from the National Trust and other national groups as an example of a state-supported preservation initiative that has returned multimillion-dollar dividends to local communities.

State Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, vice chairman of the budget-writing Senate Finance Committee that agreed to the cut in late May, said he was unaware that the program was cut so significantly.

"But a lot of things were happening late in the session, as we tried to get everything done," he said.

Hinojosa, a longtime champion of historic preservation programs across Texas, said, "It's very unfortunate that this has happened to a very popular and successful program."

State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who said she was also disappointed, suggested that the Legislative Budget Board consider approving additional funding for the program until the Legislature convenes again in regular session.